Plastic films are currently used as substrates for outdoor signage in which graphics are printed on a film and the printed film is adhered to a surface with pressure sensitive adhesive. The graphics printed on the film typically include identification information, such as a company name or trademark, advertising, instructional information, product identification, decorative designs such as striping, etc. Some of the applications for outdoor signage of this type include printed panels on trucks and truck trailers, rental trailers, aircraft and other vehicles and, to a lesser extent, exterior architectural signage. Thus, major users of the type of outdoor signage material under consideration are owners and operators of fleets of trucks, trailers, vans, and airplanes. The printed graphics to be applied to an exterior surface can be rather small or very large, such as in the case of graphics that cover the side of a truck trailer. Delivery of printed outdoor graphics of this type to the end user typically involves several companies or entities between the manufacturer of the sheet material and the end user. The manufacturer produces an assembly of unprinted sheet material including an unprinted layer of plastic film that will be used for the final signage; the unprinted sheet material is purchased by a printing company that prints the end user's selected graphics on the film, overcoats the printed graphics with a clear coating if required, and laminates an application tape over the printed graphics; last, a company specializing in the application of graphics of the subject type will apply the printed films to the end user's equipment or buildings.
The prior art utilizes a film of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic to make outdoor printed signs of the foregoing type in a sheet material construction in which the PVC has a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive on one surface which is covered by a release coated paper, and the sign is printed on the opposite surface of the PVC, which becomes the outermost surface of the sign when the PVC film is adhered to a surface. One of the principal objectives of our invention is to provide a new construction for a sheet material assembly for use in producing printed exterior signage on PVC film. Another is to provide a sheet material construction that improves protection of the graphics printed on PVC film. A further principal objective of our invention is to provide an assembly of sheet material to be printed with graphics for exterior signage that will facilitate the application of a printed PVC film to a surface. These and other objectives of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description presented below.